Police – Page 2 – NAACP New Bedford

School Resource Officers MOU Commission meets TOMORROW

Please forgive the last-minute notice. We just found out about this. The first meeting of the School Resource Officers MOU Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24th at 9am to 11am. The zoom link and agenda can be found here. The meeting is open to the public. Pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A and 940 CMR 29.00 et seq, notice is hereby given of a meeting of the School Resource Officers MOU Commission to take place on March 24, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. virtually at zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81074760083?pwd=Z1BnU29GVkc4U2x4UGtSZDVaSDVpZz09 What's at Stake? While we all celebrated that...

First stop on the school-to-prison pipeline

On February 3rd the Sentencing Project published a new study, Racial Disparities in Youth Incarceration Persist, by Josh Rovner, Senior Advocate Associate. It examines disparities in arrests of white children and children of color, and it does not paint an encouraging picture. For the NAACP the study's findings are no surprise. Black, Native, and Latino youth have been historically disciplined and arrested in disproportionate numbers and make up a lopsided percentage of those who are fed into the criminal justice system. The good news from the study is that in the last decade youth incarceration has been cut in half....

SROs and Juvenile Justice

For anyone unable to join last night's presentation on Juvenile Justice and SRO's — you missed an absolutely great program! Moriah Wiggins, Founding Co-Chair of IMPACT (Improving Multicultural Presence & Advocating for Community Transformation), co-hosted the Zoom meeting with Branch President Dr. LaSella Hall. Presenters included: Leon Smith, Esq., Executive Director, and Joshua Dankoff from Citizens for Juvenile Justice; Matthew Cregor, Staff Attorney, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee; and Ricardo Rosa, Ph.D., Co-chair, New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools/. In addition, we were joined by a number of members of the community, including school committee members and School Superintendent...

Community Forum and Discussion: Juvenile Justice in New Bedford and School Resource Officers

NAACP New Bedford Branch Community Forum and Discussion Juvenile Justice in New Bedford and School Resource Officers Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 6:00pm- 7:00pm Please join the NAACP New Bedford Branch for a panel discussion on Juvenile Justice reform and School Resource Officers in New Bedford, MA. Panelists will be discussing a new report on juvenile justice in New Bedford and a new initiative led by youth of the city. Panelists: Leon Smith, Esq., Executive Director, Citizens for Juvenile Justice Joshua Dankoff, Citizens for Juvenile Justice Matthew Cregor, Staff Attorney, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee Ricardo Rosa, Ph.D., Co-chair, New...

What comes next for law enforcement reform

From: Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz <sonia.chang-diaz@masenate.gov> Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2020 3:29 PM Subject: What comes next for law enforcement reform As you’ve likely heard by now, Governor Baker has returned the law enforcement reform bill to the Legislature with amendments. So here’s what comes next: The Senate, then the House, will take up the bill again in light of the Governor’s amendments. It’s possible that opponents of reform will use this opportunity to run out the clock on the bill, with still more amendments and procedural delay tactics. It’s imperative that we get the bill back to Baker’s desk by...

Urge Gov. Baker to sign police reform legislation without amendment, without more delay

We can’t miss this moment. Urge Governor Baker to sign the Legislature's police reform bill into law, without amendment. For months, people across the Commonwealth raised their voices for racial justice. This week the Legislature passed a bill that takes serious steps toward answering those calls — and includes reforms proposed by a diverse array of advocates and elected officials, including Governor Baker himself. The police reform package includes critical measures to increase accountability and civilian oversight. It will establish a system for investigating and decertifying officers, set boundaries on police use of force — like banning chokeholds, limit no-knock...

Ask Governor Baker to sign the police reform bill (S.2963) without delay

Note: this is similar to a previous post but the email address for the Governor has changed. The Massachusetts legislature just sent long-awaited police reform legislation to Gov. Baker. It limits police use of force, creates a POST (police oversight) system to hold officers accountable for misconduct, makes having school resource officers a decision for school superintendents, and finally regulates racially-biased and dangerous face surveillance technology. Can you please [email/call] Gov. Baker right now to urge him to sign the bill? These basic protections are long overdue and come not a moment too soon. We also welcome the bill's provisions...

Ask Governor Baker to sign the police reform bill (S.2963) without delay

The Massachusetts legislature just sent long-awaited police reform legislation to Gov. Baker. It limits police use of force, creates a POST (police oversight) system to hold officers accountable for misconduct, makes having school resource officers a decision for school superintendents, and finally regulates racially-biased and dangerous face surveillance technology. Can you please [email/call] Gov. Baker right now to urge him to sign the bill? These basic protections are long overdue and come not a moment too soon. We also welcome the bill's provisions to regulate face surveillance. Without safeguards in place, this racially-biased technology can track and target people remotely...

Revenge of the Springfield PD

[caption id="attachment_1226" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Bishop Talbert Swan II, Mayor Domenic Sarno, PD Chief Cheryl Clapprood (MassLive)[/caption] Massachusetts representatives and police unions believe the Commonwealth's police forces are nothing like those bad ones in other states. What happened to George Floyd could never happen in Massachusetts, they say. But as we have seen in New Bedford and elsewhere, there are plenty of problems with unaccountable police. And that includes Springfield. So when Greater Springfield NAACP Branch President Bishop Talbert W. Swan II spoke out against police violence and impunity, he made an enemy of Police Chief Cheryl Clapprood, who eventually fired...

“Justice was the second casualty in this case”

On October 14th, the NAACP New Bedford Branch issued a press release referring to letters to state and federal prosecutors calling for independent investigations of the murder of Malcolm Gracia by New Bedford Police. One letter was addressed to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, the other to Eric Drieband, Assistant Attorney General for the USDOJ's Civil Rights Division. Here is what we called for: The NAACP New Bedford Branch urges your office to investigate the killing of Malcom Gracia in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 2012. Today, eight years later, this killing haunt our community and puts a pall over community-...